“So”—Emma turned on her as soon as the men were out of earshot—“I know we only have half our girls’ night group here tonight, but Carly and I are dying for an update.”
Carly nodded, her eyes sparkling. “Did you unleash Mark’s wild side?”
Jessica grinned. “As a matter of fact, I did.”
Emma squealed. “Oh my God, we need details.”
Jessica glanced toward the door to the living room, keeping her voice low. “Well, I had to torture the poor man in all kinds of sexy ways before he finally broke, but holy shit, you guys…” Warmth crept into her cheeks at the memory. “Once he cut loose, it was ah-mazing. Mark has set the new gold standard for best sex ever.”
“Whoa.” Carly’s eyes were wide.
Emma was grinning like a fool. “I’m never going to be able to look at him with a straight face again.”
Jessica pointed a finger at her. “Don’t you dare repeat any of this to Ryan.”
“I would never!” Emma exclaimed.
“Oh yeah? Well, you spilled the beans when I first told you Mark and I were sleeping together, and you promised then too.”
Emma hung her head. “Okay, I did slip and tell Ryan you guys were hooking up, but I swear, I would never share details. For that matter, I’m pretty sure Ryan hasnodesire to know that much about Mark’s sex life.” She dissolved in giggles.
Even Jessica was smiling now. “Let’s hope.”
Carly waved her cell phone. “But I do think we need to tease Gabby and Mandy about what they missed.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “You ladies are terrible.”
And she loved them so much.
***
The sound of women’s laughter drifted into the living room. Ryan’s eyebrows rose. “Ten bucks says they’re talking about us right now.”
“No doubt about it,” Sam agreed.
Mark said nothing. Did women share that much with each other? He remembered how news of his relationship with Jess had gotten back to Ethan and Ryan through Gabby and Emma, and for some ridiculous reason, it got his hackles up all over again.
“Welcome to the club, man,” Ryan said, tipping his beer in Mark’s direction. “Now you too can wonder how many details have been shared about your sex life.”
Mark choked on his beer.
“I think you’re scaring him,” Sam commented.
“Don’t stress, bro,” Ryan said. “Unless you have problems, you know, in the sack…”
Mark sent him a murderous look that had Ryan doubled over with laughter.
“Who would’ve thought though?” Ryan sobered. “If you’d told me last year this time that I’d be hosting Thanksgiving dinner today with mywife, I’d have laughed in your face. And here I am all domesticated. All of us are pretty damn domesticated these days.”
“It’s true,” Sam agreed. “I never thought I’d settle down and get married, certainly never meant to end up living part-time out here in the Smoky Mountains.”
“Never thought I’d have friggin’ Sam Weiss in my living room,” Ryan said with a wide smile.
“It’s been good for me though,” Sam said. “It balances out the insanity of Hollywood quite nicely. In fact, lately I’ve been spending more time here and less time there.”
A prickling sensation crawled across Mark’s skin. He wasn’t domesticated, far from it. This thing between him and Jess…it was intense and overwhelming. Half the time, it scared the shit out of him. Maybe it was the combination of Thanksgiving dinner with her family and dessert here with their friends, but right now he felt like he was suffocating.
He needed to be alone, needed space, needed fresh air.
Jess came through the doorway from the kitchen, and her eyes locked on his. She smiled, and it was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. His chest loosened, and he drew a deep breath.
“You ready to get going?” she asked.
He nodded, standing.
They said their good-byes and headed out into the night. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked to his SUV. He could have asked her to come upstairs with him to his condo, but he didn’t. He needed to take her home. Tonight, he needed to be alone.
